Rich Chinese American Mothers-Rich Chinese are hiring American surrogate mothers for up to $120,000 a child, creating an unusual small but growing business for only the elite. It’s for wealthy families who want a baby outside the country’s restrictive family planning policies.

While there is no data on the total number of those who have sought or used US surrogates, agencies in both countries say demand has risen rapidly in the last two years. U.S. fertility clinics and surrogacy agencies are creating Chinese-language websites and hiring Mandarin speakers. Boston-based Circle Surrogacy has handled half a dozen Chinese surrogacy cases over the last five years, said president John Weltman.

“I would be surprised if you called me back in four months and that number hadn’t doubled,” he said. “That’s the level of interest we’ve seen this year from China and the very serious conversations we’ve had with people who I think will be joining us in the next three or four months.”

The agency, which handles about 140 surrogacy cases a year, 65 per cent of them for clients outside the United States, is opening an office in California to better serve clients from Asia which has easier flight connections with the West Coast. Weltman said he hopes to hire a representative in Shanghai next year.The increased interest from Chinese parents has created some cultural tensions.

U.S. agency staff who ask that surrogates and intended parents develop a personal relationship have been surprised by potential Chinese clients who treat surrogacy as a strictly commercial transaction.

In China, where surrogacy is illegal, some clients keep the fact that their baby was born to a surrogate a secret, going so far as to fake a pregnancy, agents say.

Chinese interest in obtaining U.S. citizenship is not new. The 14th Amendment to the U.S. constitution gives anyone born in the United States the right to citizenship.

A growing number of pregnant Chinese women travel to America to obtain U.S. citizenship for their children by delivering there, often staying in special homes designed to cater to their needs.

While the numbers are unclear, giving birth in America is now so commonplace that it was the subject of a hit romantic comedy movie, “Finding Mr Right”, released in China in March.

Overall, the number of Chinese visitors to the United States nearly doubled in recent years, from 1 million in 2010 to 1.8 million in 2012, U.S. immigration statistics show.